


Brace Yourself

by Imalmostmeagain



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kid Wanda Maximoff, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Parent Natasha Romanov, Past Abuse, Protective Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29935863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imalmostmeagain/pseuds/Imalmostmeagain
Summary: Natasha is Wanda’s legal guardian and pseudo-parent who notices that Wanda hasn’t been to a dentist before.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been reading a lot of Wanda/ Natasha one shots when this came to my head. I have a couple more ideas as well but I just thought his would be cute. Most of the braces stuff comes from my own past experiences with braces, if you want me to include some of your experiences as well, just comment below and I’ll try my best.

“Morning Nat,” Wanda cheerily bounced into the kitchen area where Natasha was cooking breakfast.   
“Hey, little one,” Natasha greeted as she handed her a plate of pancakes and eggs.“Morning Steve,” she greeted as she took the seat to the right of him.  
“Hey kid, how’s it goin?” He asked as he took a bite of fruit. Wanda’s lips pouted slightly as she began to whine,   
“Sttteevvvee, I told you I do not like that nickname.”

Just as Steve was about to respond, Clint strolled into the room grabbing the plate Natasha held out for him, placing a kiss on her cheek as he took the seat to the right of Wanda, effectively sandwiching her in.   
“Wassup kiddo!”   
“Clint! I told you guys I do not like that nickname.”   
“I know kiddo, but that’s what you are.”   
“Technically I’m over 100 years old, so everyone’s a kid to me,” Steve stated with a proud smile across his face.

Wanda huffed, looking every bit like a child, causing Steve and Clint to chuckle and Natasha to turn towards the coffee maker to hide her smile.   
“Here, drink your coffee милый,” Natasha sweetly whispered as she passed Wanda her favorite mug, along with Clint and Steve.  
“I still don’t think children should be drinking coffee,” Steve said as he took a sip from his own mug.  
“Oh hush Steve, she’s already drinking it,” Natasha responded as she rolled her eyes. Wanda smiled around her mug as she turned to stick her tongue out at Steve.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Natasha found herself sitting on the sofa going over Wanda’s medical files. Since the events of Ultron, Natasha was trying to make sure Wanda was all caught up with her immunizations and vaccines.   
“You know, Wanda it has just occurred to me that we haven’t taken you to see a dentist yet.” Wanda, who was playing Mario Kart next to her, paused and put the controller down.  
“do I really need to?”  
“Yes, you do. When it comes to your teeth, if you get an infection, the only place it can go is up. So we need to make sure you have no cavities or gingivitis.”

Wanda quietly fiddled with the threads of her sleeves, head down.   
“ i don’t think i like the dentist.”  
“When was the last time you went?”  
“uhhh....” Wanda quietly thought to herself, her nose crinkling in thought.  
“If you can’t give me a straight answer then it’s been too long.”  
“but nat...”  
“It’s okay, I’ll go with you and keep you safe,” she softly smiled, running a finger along Wanda’s braid. Wanda looked up and returned the smile.

* * *

“Alright, Ms. Romanoff, her teeth look good. No cavities and very little plaque.”   
At that Wanda smiled a bit.  
“However, she does need to make sure she’s flossing properly and at least once a day.” At that Wanda’s smile dropped.  
“The only issue we’re running into is this,” he emphasized by putting her x-rays on the screen.  
“She still has two baby teeth that will need to be extracted so we can bring her adult teeth forward.”

At that Wanda frowned, she did have another set of canines right behind the one in her mouth, but she didn’t think that was an issue. Yeah sometimes she would accidentally bite her tongue, but she thought nothing of it.“We can’t wait for them to fall out naturally?” Natasha questioned from her seat next to Wanda.  
“No unfortunately, as you can see the root of these teeth go all the way up in her skull. They would never be able to fall out naturally.”

“We’ll refer you to an orthodontist who’ll recommend a great Periodontist, who’ll pull those teeth out for you.”   
“Well thank you doctor for your time”, Natasha smiled as she gently took all the forms containing the information she would need to get Wanda’s teeth where they should be.

“You did a great job, маленькая ведьма,” Natasha beamed as the buckled into the car.   
“thanks. when will I have to go to the orthodomtist?”  
“Well, I’ll do some research when we get home but I’ll try and set the appointment 2-3 weeks out.”  
“okay.”  
“In the meantime, you focus on your schoolwork okay? Today is Spanish and European History.”  
“yes Tasha.”

* * *

2 and a half weeks later, Natasha and Wanda were driving to Dr. Rubenstein’s office to get Wanda’s teeth extracted. It was supposed to be a simple procedure, taking approximately 30 minutes at most. Wanda’s left hand gripped Natasha’s wrist as she stared at the road in front of her, looking very nauseous.   
“You okay over there?” Natasha slightly jeered.  
“Y-ye-yeah, I’m fine,” the teen responded, right hand moving to her chest.  
Natasha chuckled lightly as she kept her steady pace on the road.

15 minutes later, they finally reached their destination.   
“You go sit down and take some deep breaths as I sign us in okay?”  
“Mmm,” was all Wanda could get out as she left Natasha’s side to sit down.  
“is it possible if I can stay while she’s getting her teeth pulled?” Natasha quietly asked the receptionist as she signed the forms at the front desk.  
“Sure. The doctors gonna take an x-ray, which she’ll need to be alone for, but afterwards we can have her call you to the back.”  
“Ahh thank you.”

The two women waited patiently in the lobby for Wanda to be called back.   
“Wanda Maximoff?”  
“Th-that’s me.”  
“Follow me to the back please.” Wanda was led down the hall to a room on the right.  
“The doctors going to take some x-rays and clean your teeth in here before taking you into a different room for the procedure, alright?”Wanda nodded as the anxiety filled her chest. She was used to the X-rays and teeth cleanings, she could manage that.

That whole process took about 10 minutes, with Wanda answering questions about school and her day. She was led to a room directly across from where she currently was. Natasha sat in a chair across against the wall, idly chatting with the doctor as Wanda stepped into the room. Wanda took a seat on the dental engine and smiled as she could feel most of her anxiety exiting her body. Natasha looked over and discreetly winked at her and she continued talking to the periodontist.

“Okay, this procedure is gonna be really easy. We’re not going to put you under but we will be numbing the area,” she stated as she held out a small needle with a clear liquid inside. Wanda internally let herself flinch at the sight of the needle. She knew she was safe, Nat wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She nodded as she opened her mouth to allow the doctor to puncture her gums with the numbing agent. 

“It’ll take about 5 minutes for it to kick in. Until then we wait.” Natasha and Doctor Rubinstein quietly conversed with the doctor reaching out to rub Wanda’s gums every now and then.   
“How does it feel?”  
“Mm okay I guess,” she slurred out, mouth effectively numb.  
Rubinstein pulled out what looked to be just giant pliers and clamped it onto Wanda’s baby canine. She somewhat aggressively rocked the tooth back and forth, before wiggling it out.

Natasha frowned to herself. If this was all this was, she could’ve done it herself and not have to spend any money. Well, it was Tony’s money so that part didn’t matter; it was the principle of the situation. There surprisingly wasn’t a lot of blood pouring form the open hole in the girl’s mouth. Natasha sure wouldn’t have been that gentle, even if she did care for the little witch.

The other tooth was extracted the same way, with no indication that Wanda was in any pain.   
“And there we go. I need you to bite down gently on this gauze to keep it in place,” Dr. Rubinstein stated as she placed both teeth in a bag.  
“Do you want to keep them?”  
Wanda nervously nodded at the doctor as she reached out for the bag. It might’ve been weird but her mother used to collect her and Pietro’s baby teeth and these were the last two she was ever going to have.

“You’re daughter did very well today, Ms. Romanoff. Now you’re going to want to avoid foods for the next 24 hours and no drinking from straws. When you get home, apply an ice pack to your face for about 10 minutes. Keep the gauze in your mouth, making sure to replace it every 3-4 hours. You can brush your teeth and floss like you normally would just make sure you avoid the injection site, okay? Within the next 24 hours, in order to rinse the inject sites, you’ll need to make a saline solution...”

Wanda’s mind began to wander as she listened to the doctors instructions, it was a lot. Natasha noticed the glazed look in the teen’s eyes and promptly took hold of the conversation.   
“It’s okay. I have an instructional packet with detailed information on what to do and not to do,” stated Rubinstein as she gave Natasha the packet.  
“Thank you, we appreciate it very much,” Natasha smiled as she led Wanda into the all black Chevy Stingray.

“You did a great job today,” Nat brought up as she turned her gaze towards Wanda. Wanda smiled back, mouth full of slightly bloody gauze as Natasha chuckled lightly.  
“Your mouth still numb?”  
Wanda nodded gently as she leaned back into her seat, watching the scenery whiz by.

Once back at the Tower, Natasha helped Wanda change her gauze as she brushed hair out her face.   
“How about you take a nap? Maybe by the time you wake up, the numbing agents will have ran their course.” Wanda gently nodded as she made the trek into her room with Natasha following behind.  
“You have to keep your head propped up as not to prolong the bleeding.”

Wanda snuggled into her pillows once Natasha was done propping them up, sleep making her eyes heavy.   
“Want me to stay till you fall asleep?”  
“Mmm,” Wanda nodded as she made space for Natasha next to her on the bed. Natasha curled up next to Wanda so they were nose to nose. She gently carded her fingers through Wanda’s auburn locks as she gently hummed a Russian lullaby.

Natasha quietly watched as large, green, doe eyes no longer stared back into her electric green eyes. She chuckled lightly as she stealthily rose from the bed to make dinner. She kept Wanda’s door ajar to block out any noise, but to also see her if something happened. As she glided across the kitchen, her mind came to a stop. What was Wanda going to eat since she couldn’t chew or use a straw?

She figured a smoothie with protein powder would do. She would have Wanda tilt her head back and just scoop the contents into the back of her throat. That should work, yeah it would work she thought as she made her way around the kitchen. Tonight she was making lasagna with homemade garlic bread and Caesar salad. 

As the guys ate at the table, Natasha brought Wanda over to the couch and told her about her plan. Wanda was hungry so she said she’d try it, sitting on the couch with Nat standing above her. Natasha showed her the proper way to swallow without having to close her mouth, which would make this process easier.

Halfway through her feeding, she heard the guys laughing and cheering.   
“Look, it’s mama bird Nat!”  
“Feeding her little chicklet!” Sam and Clint cackled from across the room. Wanda’s cheeks grew red with embarrassment as she made eye contact with Nat.  
“Just ignore them, маленькая ведьма. I’ll get them back later.” And later she did. That night Sam and Clint found themselves covered with glue and downy feathers, confused to as how the Russian spy was able to scheme this up so quickly.

Natasha assisted Wanda in brushing her teeth, making sure she missed the extraction sites before gently rinsing her face off. She tucked Wanda in and watched  _Schitt’s Creek_ with her until she saw her dozing off.  
“Tony could never do something like that,” she said aloud. She turned off the tv and planted a soft kiss to Wanda’s crown as she made her way out the room.

“If you need me, you know my door’s always open. Good night, маленькая ведьма.”   
“night Nat, I love you,” Wanda mumbled as she snuggled deeper into her blankets.   
“I love you too Wanda,” she smiled as she turned off the lights and headed to bed in her room.


	2. Brace for Impact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda’s braces are finally out on

The next 48 hours consisted of Natashaoverseeing Wanda’s oral care. She showed Wanda the right ratio of water and salt to mix to create her saline solution to clean out her exposed tooth sockets and insisted she rinse her mouth the first time; just so Wanda could see how it was properly done.   
“You wanna do it just like this,” she said as she gently squirted the teen’s gums, letting the water run down them.  
“Don’t swish as you’ll disrupt the blood clots.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Wanda innocently asked as she tried to copy Natasha’s technique by herself.   
“Ehh, I do my research,” she shrugged as she began combing her fingers through Wanda’s hair.  
“Will you braid it for me?”  
“Sure, маленькая ведьма. I just need a hair tie.”  
Wanda watched in the mirror as Natasha raked her fingers across her scalp to gather hair. Wanda quietly hummed as Natasha’s deft fingers weaved through her auburn locks, pulling them into a tight braid.  
“Thanks Tasha.”   
“No problem sweetie.”

Natasha left Wanda to her own devices as she headed into the kitchen to get her day started.   
“Hey Nat, got any plans for today?” Steve greeted as he looked through his tablet. “Mmm, I’m going to attend some meeting with Pepper and do some training while Wanda does her schooling.”  
“Meeting? About what?”  
“They want an update on how our cleaning crew is progressing and they also want to know the status of our training reports,” she stated sipping her coffee.  
“Oh.”  
“So overall, just a boring meeting.”  
“Tell Pepper hello for me I guess.”  
“sure. Bye Steve. Can you make sure Wanda does her work?” Natasha asked as she slipped out the door.  
“Sure Nat, hope the meeting goes well,” he slightly shouted as the door closed shut behind the red headed assassin.

* * *

“Hello Steve. Do you know where Tasha is?” Wanda asked as she walked into the kitchen, textbooks in hand.  
“Oh, she went to a meeting with Pepper. Is there a problem?”  
“Yes, I’m doing Anatomy and am confused on the heart. What is a semilunar valve and what does it do?”  
“Uhh”, Steve sighed as he looked over Wanda’s book.  
“We can figure it out together.”  
“Thank you.”

After spending an ungodly amount of time trying to figure out Anatomy with Steve, Wanda was finally alone in the comfort of her own room. She was supposed to be studying for an upcoming history test but couldn’t get her mind off the fact that she was getting braces soon. The more she though about it, the more she realized: she didn’t actually know the process of getting braces. She pulled up Google and started typing in her thoughts and questions. Her eyes widened at the sheer amount of videos of people getting their braces put on.

She clicked on the very first one that popped up, eyes still widen in awe and shock, as the contents of the video played on the screen. Her fingers had a mind of their own as she clicked on video after video. Eventually, she began to understand the process of getting braces: molds, teeth cleaning and the gluing of brackets, the orthodontist attaches wire with rubber bands, and then done.

She knew she was just getting started in her braces journey as she hadn’t even had her teeth molded yet. She noticed how some people got extra appliances added to their braces such as expanders and headgear. She hoped she wouldn’t have to deal with headgear, and if she did; hopefully only at home, it was rather unsightly.

Wanda made sure to finish her homework before continuing to go down her bracesrabbit hole. Before long, a soft knock on her door brought her out of her stupor.“Hey, Steve made dinner,” came the soft but confident voice of Natasha.  
“What is it?”  
“Uhh chicken noodle soup. And I guess just warm noodle soup for you.”  
“Okay,” Wanda responded as she went to close her laptop.

“What were you watching?”   
“Videos of people getting their braces attached,” Wanda whispered as her and Natasha walked towards her kitchen.  
“Oh really?”  
“yeah. Research purposes, I guess,” she stated as Natasha laughed and slung an arm around the smaller girl’s shoulder.

* * *

After roughly 5 weeks, Wanda’s gums were completely healed, meaning she was that much closer to getting her braces put on. She got little rubber bands called spacers inserted into her back molars the next time she went to her orthodontist. Dr. Clarke said that they were there to create enough space so the braces bands could fit without issues. Wanda was scheduled to go back in a week so they could finally start applying her braces. Soon the (dreaded) day came. Wanda found herself stranding in front of her mirror, biting her bottom lip. The videos did help to appease some of her curiosity and anxiety, yet she was still nervous.

She was going to be conscious but trapped in a dentist chair, with people probing around in her mouth. The thought made her uneasy; she was going to be left exposed and vulnerable. She softly fidgeted with the ends of her shirt as she approached Natasha, who was putting on her shoes at the door.   
“You almost ready, маленькая ведьма?”  
“Yes, I just need to put on my shoes.”  
And with that, Wanda quickly slipped on her Doc Martens and followed Natasha out the front door.

“if we ask, do you think they’ll let you stay in the room?” Wanda questioned from her spot in the passenger seat.   
“Maybe.”  
Natasha knew Wanda had a hard time trusting people outside the Avengers tower, especially anyone in or related to the medical field. Natasha was probably coddling the girl by always staying with her in these types of situations. The Red Room would never allow this type of behavior, but Natasha fought against her natural instincts and stuck by the child. Cause that’s all Wanda was; a child who lost almost everything.

Natasha was permitted to stay in the room, as long as she sat to the far back, out of the way. Wanda was able to catch glimpses of Natasha’s fiery, red hair as she the orthodontist and orthodontic hygienists started the process of putting braces on the girl’s teeth, effectively calming her nerves. She inwardly cringed, the smell reminded her of a nail shop; though she’d only been inside those a handful of times.

Every so often, the orthodontist would ask Natasha a question, which she would sweetly answer, making sure to keep her eyes on everyone in the room. The process took about two hours in total, with them cleaning Wanda’s teeth, adding metal bands, arch wire, and an expander.   
“What color do you want your bands to be?”Wanda looked to Natasha as she searched through the band ring, looking at all the available color options she could get. She stopped on turquoise before looking towards Natasha.

“She’ll have turquoise if that’s fine.”“Sure, it’s no problem.”   
The calming, blue bands were quickly applied to the wire and brackets, completing the process. Wanda could tell her lips were beyond dry, despite the amount of chapstick she applied before hand. And her jaw was sore, she took to massaging it as he orthodontist, Dr. Clarke, began to speak.

“The appliance on the roof of her mouth is called a Rapid Palate Expander, or just an expander. There’s a “keyhole” in the center that I want you to turn once everyday, for 2 weeks. It’ll expand her jaw, making more space for us to bring those two teeth in.”

“The expander will stay in her mouth for 6 months, to give her jaw time to adjust and stabilize. There’s going to be soreness for the next couple of days, but 2 Advil’s will help clear that up. Brush and floss how you normally would, making sure to get the area around the brackets. Any questions?”

Wanda shook her head while Natasha said simply said no.   
“Here’s a packet detailing what you can and cannot eat, what to do if a bracket pops off, and a bunch of other information you may need to know.”  
She turned towards Natasha after grabbing a small, blue bag off the table beside her.  
“Here’s the key mom. Remember, once everyday, preferably around the same time, for two weeks.”

Natasha nodded as she placed the key in her purse.   
“Okay, you’re all set. The receptionist will set up another appointment for the 4 weeks out. You guys have a nice one and take care.”  
Wanda slid off the seat and followed Natasha to the front desk, running her tongue over the foreign metal in her mouth. The receptionist handed Wanda a “goodie bag” as they walked out.

“What’d they give you?” Natasha asked as she drove down the street, eyes slightly flickering towards Wanda.   
“A toothbrush, floss, chapstick, and wax,” she lisped out, her accent drowning out her pronunciation. Wanda sighed as she heard her own voice, barely understanding herself.  
“nat, where are we going?” She asked as they past the familiar tower she now called home.  
“I figured now would be a great time to get some ice cream.”  
Wanda nodded with a slight smile as she rubbed her jaw.

Once back at the Tower, Wanda quickly raced to her bedroom.   
“Hey Wanda,” Sam greeted as he looked up to see her almost completely out the room. She mumbled a quick greeting back to everyone in the living area before her door shut behind her.  
“Hey, what’s Lil Red’s problem?” Sam questioned as he stood up from the couch. “Well she got her braces on and they gave her something called an expander. Sits on the roof of her mouth and it gives her a pretty bad lisp. She’s just a little embarrassed, she feels like we can’t understand her”, Natasha answered as she took a sip of water.

“Oh. Well I had braces as a kid so I get it... it’s no walk in the park but still..” Sam trailed off.   
“No, she thinks we don’t _verbally_ understand with the accent and now a lisp on top of that.”“Ohh... oh,” chorused the men in the room.“What are you gonna do?” Bucky questioned from his spot at the kitchen counter.  
“What I always do: give her some space and talk to her later.”  
“Let us know if there’s anything we can do!”Steve yelled down the hall as Natasha rounded the corner.

* * *

Wanda stood in front of her mirror, examining her teeth. The turquoise was a nice color choice, it went well with her eyes. The braces themselves didn’t look too bad either and weren’t uncomfortably painful yet, just slightly so. But still, Wanda sighed as she went to shower, tuning out everything else in the tower. When she stepped into her bedroom, a bottle of water, some applesauce, and 2 Advil tablets lay on her bedside table.

She slowly ate the applesauce, noting how her mouth tasted faintly of metal, and quickly downed the medicine with some water. She picked up her worn out copy of  _Flowers for Algernon_ ,  most of the pages were raggedy and dog eared, but she loved it nonetheless. She vaguely related to the main characters, Charlie and Algernon; knowing what it was like to be seen as just another lab experiment. Wanda read until her eyes slowly began to flutter shut, consuming her in darkness.

Natasha slowly peeked into the young Sokovian teen’s room after about an hour, the realization of how quiet her room was made her check on her. Wanda had fallen asleep on the bed, her book curled up on her chest, head flopping to the side. She put the book back onto Wanda’s bedside table, gently wrapping a blanket around the sleeping child. She removed some loose strands of hair from the girl’s cheek before leaving the room to go over some past mission files.

She may not like them now but she would get used to them, Natasha thought. Her lisp wasn’t that bad, in fact, Natasha thought it was quite adorable, working in tandem with her accent. She wasn’t sure how she was gonna handle this situation, not knowing many people with braces, let alone a teen, but she was going to figure it out. She always does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kind of went a little differently than I was planning it to go but that’s alright. Once again, this all comes from my experiences with braces. So if there’s anything you would like to see, just let me know 😊

**Author's Note:**

> Translations  
> милый- sweetie  
> маленькая ведьма- little witch  
> 


End file.
